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Assorted News from the Last Week: FDA announced its Pediatric Oncology Subcommittee of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will meet virtually on 22 May to discuss provisions in the 2017 FDA Reauthorization Act that require sponsors of adult cancer drug premarket applications to also submit data that could be used to inform the use of the drug in children. The subcommittee is expected to meet to discuss implementing the law and how it could affect pediatric cancer drug development. In honor of National AYA Cancer Awareness Week, please note the recent announcement from the White House about patient data portability: [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Cancer is far more likely to be caused by “tumor-suppressor” genes than by one gene run amok.  Interestingly, last week Nature reported that researchers from St. Jude had stumbled on a new way of treating cancers caused by malfunctioning tumor-suppressor genes.  Their work focuses on a rare and aggressive childhood cancer called rhabdoid tumors and is based on restoring the broken tumor suppressor system, reverting malignant cells into ordinary ones. Longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a reduced risk of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), according to results from a [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has announced that the Pediatric Cancer Data Commons (PCDC) at the University of Chicago is one of five winners of the 2023 OSTP Year of Open Science Recognition Challenge. More than 90% of pediatric patients with cancer will experience hair loss; but in a recent study, topical minoxidil increased hair growth (hair density and thickness) in 87% of pediatric patients with chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Doxorubicin, a common chemotherapy drug used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma conferred a significantly increased risk of breast cancer among women treated [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Feature story about CAC2 Member Beat Childhood Cancer and new FDA approved therapeutic DFMO:  Families of paediatric cancer patients have helped move a pioneering treatment for neuroblastoma from the lab to the clinic. Could this breakthrough accelerate the development of future treatments? Individuals with tooth agenesis may be more likely to develop several different cancer types from childhood through young adulthood. Surveillance for late effects in adult survivors of childhood cancer is poor, placing many survivors at risk for preventable harm. To increase surveillance among this elevated-risk population, screening recommendations need to consider and [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Cancer Grand Challenges has selected five new global research teams that will address the following challenges in cancer.  This year two teams working to develop drugs for solid tumors in children were selected.  The teams will use protein degradation strategies to target previously undruggable drivers of childhood cancers. The latest Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI) resource is the Childhood Cancer Clinical Data Commons (C3DC), an open-access web application with harmonized childhood cancer demographics and phenotypic clinical data.  Use this resource to search for participant-level data, create synthetic cohorts, and export data from the Molecular [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Access to innovative therapies in pediatric oncology: Report of the nationwide experience in Canada. President’s Cancer Panel Initial Assessment of the National Cancer Plan: A Report to the President of the United States Remembering Alea Christine Ramsey – a young woman who touched many hearts. CAC2 Supporting Organization Day One Biopharmaceuticals gears up for breakthrough in pediatric cancer treatment with promising financials and FDA nod. Innovations in pediatric brain cancer treatment: A leap towards preserving childhood Pediatric cancers, like all rare conditions, will benefit from a ‘Warp Speed’ Mindset 6 biotech companies making a [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Penn State students have raised more than $16.9 million for pediatric cancer patients in the annual 46-hour dance marathon known as Thon. More than 225 advocates from 32 states participated and shared their stories, asking for congressional support for important legislation and funding for childhood cancer.  CAC2 members, Alliance members, and many others across the country had their voices heard. U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), along with Ranking Member of Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas), and Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), introduced [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: A Belgian boy with DIPG has lived seven years after his diagnosis and now at 13 years old, there is no trace of the tumor left.  He was enrolled in the BIOMEDE trial, and from the start responded strongly to the cancer drug everolimus. CAC2 Blog post: A Tribute to Pediatric Cancer Caregivers: Honoring Heroes Research demonstrates the feasibility of linking central cancer registry and pediatric cancer clinical trial consortium data to track patients and describe gaps in clinical trial enrollment. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has introduced a simple tool in Latin America called [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first ever set of treatment recommendations pertaining to neuroblastoma. Replacing brentuximab vedotin with nivolumab in first-line treatment combined with the chemotherapy regimen AVD improved progression-free survival in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed, advanced-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). Study results confirm that RNA sequencing analysis (RNA-Seq) workflow for clinical diagnosis of molecular subtypes in pediatric B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is a feasible method. A new rapid, cost-effective, and accurate ATRT subgrouping assay applicable for clinical use is presented. CAC2 Member ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation helps local 9-year-old [...] Read more

Assorted News from the Last Week: Hispanic population appears underrepresented in pediatric cancer trials. Liquid biopsies to monitor therapy success and to predict the recurrence of the tumor in time to take medical countermeasures are being used for the first time in neuroblastoma patients through the MONALISA project. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public reminder to healthcare providers that PEDMARK (sodium thiosulfate injection) by CAC2 Supporting Organization Fennec Pharmaceuticals is not substitutable with other sodium thiosulfate products as explicitly directed in its prescribing label. World Cancer Day Trends:  The number of new cancer cases globally [...] Read more